City bldgs must allot parking area for visitors……Kunal Purohit
The next time you are told to park your car outside the building when you visit your friend’s home, you don’t have to obey. You can demand that the housing society allow you to park in the visitors’ slot. If it does not have provisions for visitors, you can go to the local municipal office and file a complaint against the society for violating rules.
In an instance that highlights a little-known aspect of the Development Control (DC) Regulations, 1991, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on July 15 ordered a society in Kandivli to mark parking spaces for visitors.
The reason: Section 36(2) of DC Regulations makes it a must for every residential building in the city to reserve space for parking visitors’ vehicles.
In the island city, the reserved space is 25 per cent of the building’s total parking area, while in the suburbs it is 10 per cent.
The BMC’s order came after Sunil Ahya, who owns a flat in Gokul Nagari society, stumbled upon the rule following a parking dispute that led him to ask for his building’s approved plans.
“The builder had claimed there were two parking lots for visitors as it was a must,” he said.
Ahya filed a complaint with the BMC and made queries under the RTI Act after which the R-south ward directed the society to mark parking spaces for visitors. Ward officer Sanjog Kabre confirmed the BMC order.
Advocate Vinod Sampat, president of Co-operative Societies Residents & Users Association, said: “If a visitor is refused parking, the visitor can take the managing committee to court.”